Golf Game and Scoring System

ABSTRACT

A method for scoring a golf game. The method includes determining a number of total golf shots hit by a golf group on a golf hole, determining a number of total golf shots selected by the golf group on the golf hole from the number of total golf shots hit to obtain a holed score for the golf hole, and determining a scaled score for the golf group on the golf hole based on both the number of total golf shots hit and the number of total golf shots selected.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention is related to a golf game and system of scoring a golf game whereby points are available on a per hole basis by using the fewest shots as well as to obtain a total score for the hole which does not exceed a predetermined maximum.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In a traditional golf scramble, all players hit from each position, and this continues until the ball is holed. As can be appreciated, there is no scoring incentive under the scoring of a traditional golf scramble if a team skips a turn and advances to the next shot. It is more time consuming to play a traditional golf scramble tournament because all players hit the ball on all shots.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Under the presently described system, by giving positive points for shots not taken there are more strategic considerations involved in determining which shots to select for purposes of playing the next shot. The strategies involved in this game reward teams for the risks taken. The present golf game scoring system will play considerably faster than a traditional golf scramble

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a sample scoring table used to play the golf game of the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a sample scorecard for the game.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The scoring system will further be described as a baseball golf scramble or “baseball” for short. Since a specific hitting order for the golfers participating is employed, this can be thought of as a batting order. In addition, each team has a manager who keeps the official score. There are hits and outs, and team outs. Each Player has an individual batting average, which is calculated by dividing an individuals total shots used by their total shots taken and the team can have combined batting average by adding up each of the individual batting averages. There is a leadoff hitter on each hole and the holes may be thought of as innings.

Compared to a traditional golf scramble, baseball golf presents the opportunity to have more individual hole winners; and with stats for batting averages, awards can be given for front, back, total, individual, and team batting titles, by way of non-limiting example.

The general rules of the game are set forth as follows:

1. Each team shall designate one of its members to be the manager with the manager establishing a batting order to be followed throughout the game.

2. Each Player shall hit in order with the order carrying over from the green to the next tee.

3. Points are awarded from the scoring tables for the least number of shots taken and used on each hole.

4. A team out is the failure to score par or better on any given hole. No points are awarded for holes where the team has made an out.

5. If a team includes a total of four Players and all four Players fail to put their shot in play, the team must take a penalty shot in order to continue play.

6. Any score off the scale of the scoring table, such as for a double eagle e.g., a score of two on a par five, or a hole in one on a par four, will be given the top score available on the scoring table.

7. You can use any previous shot but you must count all shots taken thereafter and include them when determining the points to be awarded for the hole.

8. The team with the highest point total for the entire game is the overall winner.

In view of the foregoing description and rules of the game, various examples of point scoring are set forth below by comparing the shots taken to the team score for the hole and comparing this factor to the scoring table which sets out the point possibilities per hole.

EXAMPLE 1: PAR 4

Team 1, Player 1 hits a great shot to the middle of the fairway. The team uses this shot, the count is 1/1.

Team 1, Player 2 hits a poor shot from the middle of the fairway. The team decides to hit again. The count is 2/1.

Team 1, Player 3 hits a bad shot also. The team decides to bat again. The count is 3/1.

Team 1, Player 4 hits on the green. The team uses this shot. The count is 4/2.

Now it is Player 1 who must hit again. Player 1 makes the putt. The count is 5/3.

Team 1—FINAL SCORE FOR THE HOLE: 5/3.

A 5/3 is worth 23 points. (See Par Four scoring table.)

Team 1, Player 2 would hit first on the next hole and the rotation would continue in order until the team is “out” with no possibility of scoring points on the hole or until a score for the hole is achieved and compared to the scoring table to determine the appropriate number of points to award for the hole. Keeping the appropriate hitting order (i.e., players' rotation) an example for a par 5 hole is also provided.

EXAMPLE 2: PAR 5

Team 1, Player 2 hits out of bounds. The team decides to bat again. The count is 1/0.

Team 1, Player 3 hits short. The team bats again. The count is 2/0.

Team 1, Player 4 hits a good tee shot. The team uses this shot. The count is 3/1.

Team 1, Player 1, who is the next player in the rotation after Player 4, hits poorly. The team wants to bat again. The count is 4/1.

Team 1, Player 2 hits in the water. The team bats again. The count is 5/1.

Team 1, Player 3 hits short of the green. The team decides to use this shot. The count is 6/2.

Team 1, Player 4 hits into the trees. The team chooses to bat again. The count is 7/2.

Team 1, Player 1, who is the next player in the rotation after Player 4, shanks one. The team bats again. The count is 8/2.

Team 1, Player 2 chips onto the green. The team uses this shot. The count is 9/3.

Team 1, Player 3 putts from position 3 on the green and misses. The count is 10/3. The team decides not to use this shot.

Team 1, Player 4 putts and misses. The count is 11/3.

Team 1, Player 1, who is the next player in the rotation after Player 4, putts up very close to the hole. The team uses this shot. The count is 12/4.

Team 1, Player 2 putts from position 4 and misses the putt. The count is 13/4. The team decides not to use this shot.

Team 1, Player 3 makes the putt. The count is 14/5.

Team 1—FINAL SCORE FOR THE HOLE: 14/5.

A 14/5 is worth 8 points. (See Par Five scoring table.)

Team 1, Player 4 bats first the next inning (i.e., on the next hole). Assuming for purposes of discussion that the next hole is a par 3, yet another example of awarding points for the hole is presented.

EXAMPLE 3: PAR 3

Team 1, Player 4 is the lead-off man. He hits one in the water. The count is 1/0.

Team 1, Player 1, who is the next player in the rotation after Player 4, hits a good shot on the green. The team decides to use this shot. The count is 2/1.

Team 1, Player 2 misses the putt. The count is 3/1.

Team 1, Player 3 misses the putt. The count is 4/1.

Team 1, Player 4 missed the putt. The count is 5/1.

Team 1, Player 1, who is the next player in the rotation after Player 4, batting clean-up from this position, misses the putt.

At this point, Team 1 takes the position of the best putt making the count 6/2 with scorer noting which player's putt was selected for purposes of calculating each player's batter average.

Team 1, Player 2 bats next and makes the putt. The count is 7/3.

Team 1—FINAL SCORE FOR THE HOLE: 7/3

A 7/3 is worth 6 points. (See Par Three scoring table.)

Team 1, Player 3 leads-off next inning.

In view of the above described rules and examples presented, a mock score card is presented in FIG. 2, which shows points accumulated by teams 1-8 on a hole-by-hole basis for an eighteen hole round. The card also indicates which teams had the highest point total on the front nine, back nine and eighteen hole total which is normally indicative of the overall champion. With reference to the Sample Score Card, Team 3 is the winner of the front nine, Team 5 is the winner of the back nine and Team 7 is the overall winner having accumulated the highest point total for the event.

While the above described method of scoring the subject golf game has been demonstrated with regard to teams comprising four players per team, it should be understood that the game can be easily modified to account for teams having any number of multiple players, e.g., two, three or four person teams, etc., with specific scoring tables provided for each combination of players per team. This game could also be played by individuals in a head-to-head competition or tournament play.

Further, while a scoring table such as that shown in FIG. 1 having particular points designated on a shots per hole basis is presented for purposes of explanation, the points awarded per hole as set forth in the sample Scoring Table can be varied depending on who is participating in the competition. For example, there could be separate and distinct scoring tables (points awarded per hole) for different team divisions such as all women, all men, all junior, or all senior players whereby the points available per hole may be higher for one division as compared to another division. This would allow for a predetermined handicapping of the field so that all teams would have a comparable opportunity to win any given category such as front nine champion, back nine champion and overall champion by way of non-limiting example.

To facilitate one or more of the objectives of the golf game described herein, it is possible to employ electronic tablets (computer) having a specifically designed software program whereby the manager enters the scoring data for the holes into the computer and the computer in turn calculates the number of points to be awarded by comparing the data to a scoring table embedded in the software. As can be appreciated, the use of computers would allow for real-time scoring by remote transmission of the data to a central computer so that the results of the event could be available almost simultaneously with the entry of the last groups' data from the last hole played. As can be further appreciated, use of computerized scoring means will speed up the time needed to complete the golf event which is a common problem with golf outings generally.

Other examples of useful electronic scoring systems that may be employed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention are presented in the following list of patents: U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,571,143; 5,949,679; 5,779,566; 5,779,549; 5,504,312; 5,283,733; and 4,910,677, each of which is freely incorporated by reference.

In order to allow for longest drive and closest to the pin contests which are traditional golf outing awards, a flex rule can be used. Under the flex rule, teams would count shots “taken” and “used” as normal by designating a shot to be “used” by the team prior to other teammates hitting from the tee box. This way, all team members are still eligible to qualify for the longest drive and closest to the pin awards even though they are ineligible for purposes of their shot being used by the team once the team has declared that a preceding shot is to be used as the team shot. Once the team shot is declared, the rotation for the next shot follows the original order even though all team members may participate in the closest to the pin and/or longest drive competitions.

The description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and, thus, variations that do not depart from the gist of the invention are intended to be within the scope of the invention. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention. 

1. A method for scoring a golf game comprising: determining a number of total golf shots hit by a golf group on a golf hole; determining a number of total golf shots selected by the golf group on the golf hole from the number of total golf shots hit to obtain a holed score for the golf hole; and determining a scaled score for the golf group on the golf hole based on both the number of total golf shots hit and the number of total golf shots selected.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the golf group includes at least one golfer.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising assigning the golf group a scaled score of zero if the number of total golf shots selected to obtain the holed score is greater than a predetermined value.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the predetermined value is par.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the scaled score is a predetermined point value.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the golf group includes a plurality of golfers that take turns hitting shots on the golf hole in a predetermined order, whereby the scaled score increases each time one of the golfer's turns is skipped, provided that the number of golf shots selected does not exceed a predetermined value.
 7. A method for scoring a golf match to determine the winner of a first golf hole comprising: determining a score of a first group for the first golf hole, the score of the first group is based on both a number of total golf shots hit by the first group on the first golf hole and a number of total golf shots selected by the first group from the total golf shots hit to obtain a holed score for the first group; determining a score of a second group for the first golf hole, the score of the second group is based on both a number of total golf shots hit by the second group on the first golf hole and a number of total golf shots selected by the second group from the total golf shots hit to obtain a holed score for the second group; and comparing the score of the first group to the score of the second group to identify a winner of the first golf hole.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the first group and the second group each include at least one golfer.
 9. The method of claim 7, wherein the first group and the second group each include a plurality of golfers that participate in a predetermined order that is repeated throughout the first golf hole.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein performance of an individual golfer of the first group is assessed by dividing the number of golf shots hit by the individual golfer that were selected by the first group by the total shots hit by the individual golfer.
 11. The method of claim 7, further comprising assigning the first group a score of zero if the number of total golf shots selected to obtain the holed score is greater than par.
 12. The method of claim 7, wherein the winner of the first golf hole is the group with the highest score.
 13. The method of claim 7, wherein the score of the first group and the score of the second group are based on the par rating assigned to the first hole.
 14. The method of claim 7, wherein the method is repeated on a second hole to identify a winner of the second golf hole.
 15. The method of claim 7, wherein the first group includes a plurality of golfers that take turns hitting shots on the first golf hole in a predetermined order, whereby the scaled score of the first group increases each time one of the golfer's turns is skipped, provided that the number of golf shots selected does not exceed a predetermined value.
 16. A method for awarding points based on an ability of a first golf group to successfully complete a golf hole by advancing a golf ball from a golf tee into a golf cup comprising: comparing a total number of golf shots hit by the first golf group on the first golf hole to a total number of golf shots used by the first golf group to advance the golf ball from the golf tee into the golf cup to arrive at a scaled score for the first group; wherein the scaled score is a predetermined number of points based on both the total number of golf shots hit and the total number of golf shots used to advance the golf ball into the golf cup.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the first golf group includes at least one golfer.
 18. The method of claim 16, further comprising comparing a total number of golf shots hit by a second golf group on the first golf hole to a total number of golf shots used by the second golf group to advance a golf ball from the golf tee into the golf cup to arrive at a scaled score for the second golf group; and comparing the scaled score of the second golf group to the scaled score of the first golf group to determine a winner of the first golf hole.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the method is repeated during play of a second golf hole.
 20. The method of claim 16, wherein the first golf group includes a plurality of golfers that take turns hitting shots on the first golf hole in a predetermined order, whereby the scaled score of the first golf group increases each time one of the golfer's turns is skipped, provided the number of golf shots needed to complete the hole does not exceed a score of par for the hole. 